Interpretive Summary: Visible- Near Infrared spectroscopy has been used for the last decade to try to correlate different quality parameters of broiler breast filets to spectra. This study was done to determine if Vis-NIR could be used to distinguish filets with different postmortem deboning times. Postmortem deboning time has been linked to the texture tenderness of the meat. Additionally, this study sought an answer to whether or not the sampling position of the filet had an effect on the spectra and the correlation to the quality parameter. The results show that the spectra can be used to distinguish the deboning time and whether the spectra were collected from the skin side or bone side of the breast filet. The sample position on a given side did not have an effect on the ability of the method to separate the other parameters.

Technical Abstract:
Visible-Near Infrared spectroscopy (Vis-NIR) was used to characterize broiler breast filets with varied deboning times and identify how the side and position of the sampling affects the chemometric analysis and prediction capabilities. This study served to identify what differences, if any, exist when collecting spectra from the skin side and the medial side of the breast filets. In addition to the side of the filet, two different positions, anterior and posterior, on the filet were also probed spectroscopically. The comparison of the region and side of sampling of the breast filets has been previously unreported. The breast filets under investigation were subjected to different post-mortem deboning times. The right and left breast filets from each carcass were both used, but were deboned at different times. The results of this study show that the side of the filet has more impact on the spectra than does the position of the sampled area. The data analysis also shows that the spectra from the skin side are more useful for separation of samples by deboning time.